Glenn J. Smits
Eagle Vista Martial Arts, Pine Bush, NY
April 13, 1999

A couple of days ago I finally received my copy of Bob Orlando's video, Fighting Arts of Indonesia.  I've viewed it several times and feel I can pass on some impressions.
 
The overall quality of the video is very good.  The picture quality and the sound are fine.  The taping was done in a studio setting, not out of doors or anywhere where there would have been extraneous sounds or movement from the background.  Bob presents his material articulately, and in a very organized manner.  As he demonstrates technique, he positions himself and his partners so the technique can be viewed from several angles, both at full speed, and then more slowly with a breakdown and explanation of the technique and application.
 
I always find it both pleasing and exciting when I hear another Martial Arts practitioner espousing the same philosophy I've developed on training and teaching the Martial Arts (it makes me feel as if after 35 years of practicing I may finally have gotten a clue!).  The main concept that Bob relates is that technique is secondary to it's underlying principles both of movement and strategy.  Also, once those underlying principles are understood the techniques are fairly easy to learn and apply.

The second major theme is that you don't need a lot of techniques to be effective.  As a matter of fact, self-defense is definitely a situation where less is more.  Bob uses the examples of both a computer, which uses combinations of binary switches to create an infinite number of data bits, or the alphabet, which is composed of 26 letters, but those letters can be combined to form thousands of words, paragraphs, and so on.

Bob has distilled the information given him by his instructor, Willem de Thours into 5 basic principles which are: adhesion, whiplash, gyroscopic rotation, shearing, and seating.  The format of the tape is to introduce some basic techniques of the system, and then to introduce a principle and demonstrate several ways the principle could be applied.

Those familiar with the Filipino arts, or who have experience in some of the Chinese systems will not see anything new as far as the first part of the tape is concerned.  The hand techniques and flow drills that Bob teaches are very similar to the de cadena drills from Arnis.  Bob makes it very clear that his inspiration for the flow drills he teaches are inspired by the Filipino martial arts.  However, he adds some distinctly Indonesian "nuggets" to the FMA flow drills (he terms the flow concept the "molasses" that holds the nuggets) to make what he calls "Peanut Brittle."  The advanced use of the elbows in these drills alone are worth the price of the tape.

There were two things that really impressed me about the video.  The first was how an opponent can be easily set up to receive multiple strikes before he hits the ground.  Bob describes this as setting up a physical reaction by an opponent as opposed to simply responding to a reaction.  The same strategy is used in pocket billiards or chess where the player plans his strategy moves ahead.  It's the difference, as Bob has described elsewhere, of throwing your opponent off the cliff to kill him, or throwing him so he bounces against the rocks several times before he finally hits bottom.  I like that!

The second thing was the use of the legs.  Now, I have seen some stuff like this before in Hapkido and Jujitsu systems, but never to the degree of finesse that the Indonesian practitioners seem to have developed it.  I can only describe it as leg trapping.  Bob demonstrates how the feet can be used, in conjunction with hand techniques to set up the opponent so that even just the simple act of falling down will cause the opponent to inflict additional damage on himself by tearing ligaments and tendons, or possibly even fracturing the leg.  Really impressive!

Not only does Bob show the leg art (which I'm sure was only a small sample of it), but he teaches several flow drills to develop the ability to use the legs in the manner demonstrated.  I know I'm probably gonna hurt myself when I try them, but I sure can't wait to start playing with this stuff myself.

All in all, the tape is an excellent value.  I believe any experienced martial artist (as everyone on this list is) can really benefit from the material on it and would not have a problem picking it up.  The real benefit of the tape is to see how the material was distilled and broken down for presentation.  I therefore think that this is of particular benefit for instructors as the concepts and principles Bob presents are fairly universal and could be applied to any number of systems.  Bob is truly a teacher's teacher and has my utmost respect.  It's always a pleasure to watch a real professional work!

The tape, along with Bob's books can be obtained by visiting his web site, www.OrlandoKuntao.com.  Click on the "Books & Videos" line and you will be miraculously transported to Paladin Press (his distributor) where your plastic (and probably plastique!) is always welcome.  Enjoy!